Vital expert witnesses may be too afraid to testify because of the “chilling effect” of a Supreme Court ruling that leaves them open to being sued, lawyers warned yesterday.

The ruling last week removed immunity for expert witnesses, reversing more than 300 years of legal protection. Lawyers predict the change will prompt many lawsuits against experts

Comment by #wco: So some “experts” are worried they will be the target of civil suits against them. If their “expert opinion” is valid, then any amount of scrutiny and examination will uphold their view. If anything, the expert witness’s that can prove their opinion will prevail and the justice system become more accurate, predictable and trusted.

The footnote on the familylawweek.co.uk article by James Badenoch QC says “The worry is that expert witnesses will be frightened off by their concerns about being sued. Child protection cases give rise to the greatest concern. Children being maltreated crucially depend on doctors being willing to stand up and give evidence, and this will be another disincentive for those people to be willing to lend their learning.”

Why do these people have any concerns? If they have a valid opinion they can surely trust the legal system they make money from?